Coliseum roof debris to be cleared within week and a half

Demolition should be finished by mid-August

CORPUS CHRISTI - The leveled roof of Memorial Coliseum is expected to be completely cleared from the bayfront in the next week and a half.

Crews with A&R Demolition are working to remove the roof debris and a small amount of asbestos from a portion of the roof that still stands, superintendent Vernon Carr said. The roof remnants include metal and concrete, most of which will be recycled. The rest of the rubble will be taken to the city landfill, Carr said.

Once debris from the property is cleared, crews will begin breaking up the foundation using an industrial hammer. The entire process is expected to finished by the middle of August, Carr said.

The roof came down Monday, collapsing under its own weight after crews used an industrial shearing tool to clip steel supporting the front section. The collapse came quickly, doing on its own in a few minutes what workers planned to do in several days.

The work began May 7 after an appellate court reversed an injunction that had prevented demolition for nearly two months. The City Council voted in February to demolish the building after spending more than five years looking for a private developer to reuse the 56-year-old building.

The coliseum served as the center for community events from 1954 until the city opened the American Bank Center in 2004.